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A-levels help

hi. probably a stupid question I know, but how would I go about applying to uni with quite low predicted grades, that won’t get me a place, but then proceed to do better in the real exams? I’m only in my first year atm (AS) and my final grades were relatively low. would I need to take a gap year? and then how would I proceed to apply afterwards then? thanks
Original post by ellaren
hi. probably a stupid question I know, but how would I go about applying to uni with quite low predicted grades, that won’t get me a place, but then proceed to do better in the real exams? I’m only in my first year atm (AS) and my final grades were relatively low. would I need to take a gap year? and then how would I proceed to apply afterwards then? thanks

You could either do clearing or a gap year. Who knows though, the universities which you apply to may make you offers anyway
Reply 2
Original post by mesub
You could either do clearing or a gap year. Who knows though, the universities which you apply to may make you offers anyway

thank you! so I assume after the gap year I apply the same way I would, but instead with final grades rather than predicted?
Original post by ellaren
thank you! so I assume after the gap year I apply the same way I would, but instead with final grades rather than predicted?

Yep! A slight tweak in the PS would be useful to reflect on what you've used for gap year for, but any offers you would receive would be unconditional.
Original post by ellaren
hi. probably a stupid question I know, but how would I go about applying to uni with quite low predicted grades, that won’t get me a place, but then proceed to do better in the real exams? I’m only in my first year atm (AS) and my final grades were relatively low. would I need to take a gap year? and then how would I proceed to apply afterwards then? thanks


Hi, do you know what your predicted grades are going to be yet? :smile:

You should ideally apply for mostly unis that fit with your predicted grades, but as mentioned there may be an option to 'trade up' in Clearing if you overperform your predictions.
Reply 5
Original post by Saracen's Fez
Hi, do you know what your predicted grades are going to be yet? :smile:
You should ideally apply for mostly unis that fit with your predicted grades, but as mentioned there may be an option to 'trade up' in Clearing if you overperform your predictions.

nope not yet but judging by the fact my results were C D E, it’s not looking good 😭 and is that on UCAS?
Original post by ellaren
hi. probably a stupid question I know, but how would I go about applying to uni with quite low predicted grades, that won’t get me a place, but then proceed to do better in the real exams? I’m only in my first year atm (AS) and my final grades were relatively low. would I need to take a gap year? and then how would I proceed to apply afterwards then? thanks

Hi @ellaren

As has already been suggested, you could either go through clearing on the day and try and go to a university which initially you didn't have the predicted grades for (this is a more common approach than you might think). Or you could wait a year and apply to university again with your confirmed grades through UCAS. It is the same process but you just put them down as final grades rather than predicted. Some people prefer this approach because it is less stressful as you know what you have going into the application round and when university's then offer you a place, you know you are 100% guaranteed it.

As a side note, I wouldn't worry about this too much now. Just because your AS grades were lower than you might have hoped for, it doesn't mean your predicted grades will be low. There is so much room for improvement in your final year of A levels.

Good luck!
(edited 2 months ago)
Original post by ellaren
nope not yet but judging by the fact my results were C D E, it’s not looking good 😭 and is that on UCAS?

I don't fully follow your question but yes, both your initial application and any Cleairng applications go via UCAS :smile:

Have a chat to your teachers about how they will calculate/decide your predicted grades, as different schools/departments/teachers do this differently. It might not be quite as crude as just giving your AS results as predictions. (Though if you've actually sat AS levels, you have to share the results on your UCAS application.)

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